Janet Freedman

This is not one of the great books about the Chesapeake, it is not Beautiful Swimmers, for example. The work was begun as the author’s graduate project for the Johns Hopkins University MLA program and was published by the Maryland Historical Society in 2002. I found the recounting of the historical facts a little stilted and the integration between the island history and the personal history not smooth, although I cannot imagine how it might have been better done. The island history is helpful as it connects Kent Island’s story with that of the rest of the Chesapeake Bay.

The personal portions of the book are almost an oral history of the author’s family and their lives on the island as farmers and fishermen, small-scale entrepreneurs, wives and mothers. It incorporates memoir and family stories, photos and recipes. It successfully conveys Freedmans’ respect and love for her family, their history, and the land and life of the island before development ploughed it under and built it up, as well as her sense of loss.

It could be a valued addition to a collection of works about the Chesapeake Bay. Overall, I found the book moving and endearing and will keep it.… (altro)